Changing the world through dignity, hope, and social justice
Social work is a profession that focuses on enhancing and restoring people’s capacity for social functioning and well-being. Social workers help people to solve problems they experience in transactions with their various environments. The professional practice of social work requires knowledge and skills for working with a variety of human systems, including individuals, families, group, organizations, and communities. Activities include helping to enhance people’s problem-solving skills, instilling hope, working to connect people with resources, working to make resource systems more responsive to people and working to create new resources when none exist. Another key objective is helping marginalized people to achieve social and economic justice. Social work education focuses on developing an understanding of human behavior in the social environment, on understanding the major social welfare institutions and policies, on practice theory and skill development and on using research to enhance social work practice. The community, along with its organizations and social agencies, is a laboratory for social work education; therefore, instruction occurs both in the classroom and in field settings.
Social Work Graduates can:
- identify as a professional social worker and conduct oneself accordingly through the application of social work ethical principles;
- engage in research-informed practice and practice-informed research;
- apply critical thinking to inform and communicate professional judgments;
- engage diversity and difference in practice, advance human rights and social and economic justice
- engage in policy practice to advance social and economic well-being, anti-racism, diversity, and equity, and inclusion, and to deliver effective social work services;
- apply knowledge of human behavior and the social environment, responding to contexts that shape practice; and
- engage, assess, intervene and evaluate practice with individuals, families, groups organizations and communities.
“This program allowed me to chase a passion and reach goals I thought were not an option. I am
thankful for the community and the relationships I’ve made to further my education and myself as a person.”
–BCSW GRADUATE
Bethel College Social Work is accredited by the Council on Social Work Education’s Board of Accreditation.
Accreditation of a baccalaureate social work program by the Council on Social Work Education’s Board of Accreditation indicates that it meets or exceeds criteria for the assessment of program quality evaluated through a peer review process. An accredited program has sufficient resources to meet its mission and goals and the Board of Accreditation has verified that it demonstrates compliance with all sections of the Educational Policy and Accreditation Standards.
More information about Licensure Disclosure is here
Application Process
Admission to Social Work
In order to major in social work, you must be admitted to the program. This normally occurs by the junior year for transfer students. Liberal arts courses and additional courses in the social sciences form the foundation for the social work major. You are eligible to be admitted to the social work major when you meet the following:
- General education basic communication and lower level distribution requirements for the Bachelor of Science degree (Bethel College catalog).
- Completion of these courses in the social sciences: ECON 211, SSC222, PSY211. (One of these courses may also fulfill a general education requirement.)
- A cumulative grade point average of at least 2.5.
Application for admission to the social work major requires completing an application and submitting three references. Admission to the social work program will be based on the following criteria:
- Evidence through interview, references and autobiographical material that the student has a system of values consistent with the Code of Ethics of the social work profession.
- Evidence through past academic work that the student has the aptitude to pursue the social work major.
- Evidence from academic records and the application process that the student is capable of effective verbal and written communication.
- Evidence through interview, references and autobiographical material that the student has the emotional maturity and stability needed for compassionate and effective social work.
Transferring to Bethel for a Social Work Degree
If you’re interested in transferring from a community college or two-year private college, you are welcome at Bethel. You can prepare for entry into the social work program during your first two years of college, making it possible to transfer to Bethel and complete the social work degree in a minimum of two years. If you expect to transfer for the social work major, you are encouraged to contact the director of social work education as early as possible in your college career to be advised about admission requirements. You will also be advised about the ideal curriculum choices at the two-year college to articulate with the social work program at Bethel.
Preparation for a Social Work Education at Bethel
The liberal arts are an essential foundation for a social work degree. Successful completion of a program of liberal studies is the best preparation for the social work major. Competence in oral and written communication is crucial for completing the social work major as are skills and abilities to think analytically and synthesize information from various sources.
Specific courses, when taken along with a community college liberal studies program, will prepare the transferring student for entry into the social work program at Bethel College. They are:
- General Psychology
- Principles of Sociology
- Life-Span Development or Developmental Psychology
- Introduction to Economics
- Statistics
In addition, many two-year colleges offer a social work course that introduces students to the social welfare institution and social work. When approved by the faculty of Bethel College’s social work program, this course will fulfill the requirements for a course usually taken during the first year in the social work major at Bethel. Students in the two-year college should contact the director of social work education at Bethel to be sure that the course has been approved to meet a requirement for social work at Bethel. The Bethel registrar makes final decisions regarding transferring credits for courses taken outside Bethel and about articulation with general education requirements at Bethel.
